Recently, we are dealing with a strong heat wave in Poland. However, it does not exclude the professional activity of employees who have to face this difficult task at high temperatures. In addition to the provisions of the Labor Code regulating the obligations of employers in such a situation, the recommendations have recently been issued by the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. What health and safety obligations should the employer fulfill towards employees?

Above all, employers should take all necessary measures to mitigate as much as possible the possible effects of exposure of employees to work in high temperatures, especially outdoors in bright sunlight. The employer should:

• provide employees with unlimited cold drinks free of charge, allowing them to meet the needs of employees – the employer is obliged to act as above if the temperature in the case of working outside exceeds 25 ° C, and in the room – 28 ° C at a given position. The regulation was included both in Art. 232 of the Labor Code as well as in the Regulation of the Council of Ministers (of May 28, 1996 on preventive meals and drinks, Journal of Laws 1996 No. 60 item 279), which clarifies that the employer cannot replace the obligation to provide drinks to employees, e.g. . payment of an equivalent that would compensate for their lack and oblige the employee to purchase the drinks on their own,
• stop working by young employees if the temperature in the room where such employee works exceeds 30 ° C. This issue is regulated by the content of the regulation on the list of works forbidden to young people and the conditions of their employment (Regulation of August 24, 2004, Journal of Laws of 2004, No. 200, item 2047),
• ensure the appropriate temperature in the rooms where employees perform their duties. If the room is not air-conditioned, the employer should ensure that there are appropriate fans or fans that will reduce the temperature or at least increase the comfort of working in such a room.

In addition, the employer may also decide, for example, to shorten the working day of workers exposed to work in high temperatures. However, this is not a legal obligation, but only the employer’s good will. In such a case, the employee who was applied to shorten his working day retains the right to full remuneration for work on that day.

Another good practice of employers is to ensure the installation of roller shutters and blinds in highly sunny rooms, which also allows to reduce the temperature.

Labor law provisions do not regulate the maximum temperature at which employees may perform their duties. In the Labor Code, we only find a reference to young employees, i.e. a maximum of 30 ° C, with a maximum air humidity of 65%.

It should be noted that the above obligations of the employer during hot weather do not apply only to employees employed under an employment contract, but in accordance with the wording of Art. 304 of the Labor Code also to people who provide services on a basis other than an employment relationship, e.g. a mandate contract, a managerial contract, as well as self-employed persons who provide services on the premises of a given workplace.

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